The Independent Republic of the Canongate - tells the stories behind the PR spin of the developers, the architects, politicians and council officials here in Edinburgh, the UK and the world

Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Edinburgh World Heritage on Youtube

"To view the time-lapse film for Edinburgh World Heritage go to Film on Youtube

The following article is in today`s Evening News By ADAM MORRISTWO movie-making brothers who scored an unlikely internet hit have finished their new film – for an online bid to attract visitors to the Capital.Ewen and Al Meldrum spent two years producing a "time-lapse" film, sitting in one spot for hours to take hundreds of shots of the city. As the News revealed last year, it has since become one of the most viewed Edinburgh films on video sharing website, YouTube.Now the brothers have completed their highest-profile production so far, an eight-minute time-lapse film for Edinburgh World Heritage.It is expected to be linked to tourism websites such as VisitScotland, a favourite for millions of people thinking of booking a Scottish break.Health worker Ewen, 39, said he was overwhelmed at the prospect of the latest film being viewed around the world.He said: "As it stands, we put our stuff up on YouTube which is fine, but there's no advertising with that and you just rely upon people coming across it by chance or by word of mouth."The brothers, who spend a significant chunk of their free time sitting in remote corners of Edinburgh filming the city by day and night, have also been commissioned to work for a US cable channel which wants them to film the Scottish Highlands and Islands.And, a year on from their breakthrough production – Koya Moments – Ewen said they had both learned new techniques in the filming of time-lapse movies."Before we would spend months doing it, but we learned a few techniques that speed things up and we were able to finish the Edinburgh World Heritage film in around seven weeks," he said. "We were filming around the time when a lot of roadworks were coming in and bits of the city being dug up so it became problematic towards the end."The latest film focuses on the public spaces of Edinburgh and how people relate to them, mixed in with some beautiful shots of the Capital's famous landmarks. The brothers – who work under the name Meltec – completed the film in time for last week's World Heritage Day.David Hicks, communications manager for EWH, said it would be a huge asset for the organisation. He said: "It's a fantastic piece of work and shows Edinburgh in a wonderful light."The idea is to get across how public spaces are just as important to Edinburgh's World Heritage status as the landmarks, and how people react to public spaces and what they do in them. This film ties in perfectly with that."There is one scene in particular with a perfect crescent moon descending over the Castle which is my favourite."